Greg Zakowicz, senior commerce marketing analyst at Oracle + Bronto, started the webinar by talking about customers’ expectations of personalisation, based on the information they are willing to share with them.
Consumer expectations (drawn from Oracle + Bronto research)
• Consumers expect retailers to track their shopping habits (61% of millennials do expect this, although 13% don’t, and 76% of baby boomers expect this).
• How do consumers expect brands to use the information they collect? Appear happy to give up information in exchange for discounts, product information – but what they get in return must work, eg product recommendations.
• How often are you satisfied by product recommendations made by online shopping stores? 17% of millennials are always and 39% frequently satisfied; 41% of generation X shoppers always satisfied; 34% of baby boomers always satisfied.
• In-store expectations: what do shoppers do in store with their phones? All generations are most likely to be looking up product information, to help inform product decision: “Just in time content for a just in time buyer.”
• Consumer expectations: Expecting to use phones in store? Expectation of more personalised in-store experience? 52% of millennials say yes, 47% Gen X, 23% baby boomers.
• What would help? Instore wifi, interactive spaces, equipping sales associates with tablets for real-time product info. But the impact of free wi-fi on sales doesn’t have that much effect.
• Assessing the importance of free wi-fi, dressing rooms, sales staff, product availability, ease of checkout on the in-store retail experience.
Retailer business objectives
• Which features have the highest potential to improve sales or profit (and how satisfied retailers are with their performance): website experience, marketing channel attribution and the mobile experience top the chart in the UK market.
• The importance of delivering the right message at the right time in the right channel:
• Message personalisation: 55% of retail brands are satisfied they are sending the right message, 42% at the right time, 54% in the right channel.
• UK retailers very focused on channel attribution and where people are interacting.
Email marketing strategies
• Welcome messaging strategy: why it’s important to distinguish between the groups seeing the message. With examples. Personalised messages can lift sales by 134%.
• Browse recovery messages
• Abandoned strategy message: probably most profitable but can always be better. Analyse the strategy, test and vary timing, based on data points. Content of messages. Incentives. Number of messages: don’t stop at 3.
• Product recommendations: can make email relevant to 100% of audience. With examples.
• Pitfalls and how to avoid them: don’t be too specific with wrong recommendations; the problems with generic recommendations.
The webinar was followed by a Q&A session. Find out more about this webinar here, where you’ll soon be able to watch it again at your convenience.
